1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates an apparatus for manufacturing a collimator having a glass tube assembly and a metal sleeve, and more particularly, to an apparatus for automatically assembling the glass tube assembly into the metal sleeve.
2. Description of the Related Art
A collimator is an optical communication device transforming light received from a light source into a beam of parallel rays. The collimator is usually employed as a component in a variety of equipment, such as optical communication equipment and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which is in need of parallel rays.
As shown in FIG. 1, a collimator 10 generally includes a pigtail 12 and a GRIN (gradient index) lens 14 which are arranged along a coaxial line, a glass tube 15 accommodating and supporting the pigtail 12 and the GRIN lens 14, and a metal sleeve 16 protecting the glass tube 15 in an outside thereof.
The pigtail 12 is made of glass, and a fiber 13 forming an incidence path of the light is provided in one end part of the pigtail 12, through which the light is transmitted. In the other end part of the pigtail 12 is formed a first inclined part 12a having a predetermined inclination angle with a plane having the coaxial line.
Further, the GRIN lens 14 disposed coaxially with the pigtail 12 is provided with a second inclined part 14a in one end corresponding to the first inclined part 12a of the pigtail 12. The first inclined part 12a of the pigtail 12 and the second inclined part 14a of the GRIN lens 14 are disposed obliquely to the plane to face each other.
To manufacture the collimator 10 having the above configuration, the GRIN lens 14 is first inserted into the glass tube 15, and fastened therein. Herein, the one end of the GRIN lens 14 which is formed with the second inclined part 14a is located inside the glass tube 15, and the other end thereof protrudes from the glass tube 15 by a predetermined length.
After the GRIN lens 14 is fixedly attached to and supported by one side of the glass tube 15, the pigtail 12 is inserted in the other side of the glass tube 15. Herein, the one end part of the pigtail 12 which is formed with the first inclined part 12a is inserted inside the glass tube 15 to mate with the second inclined part 14a of the GRIN lens 14 which has already been supportedly inserted inside the glass tube 15.
At this time, the first inclined part 12a of the pigtail 12 is disposed to be parallel to the second inclined part 14a of the GRIN lens 14 through an aligning process so as to obtain desired optical properties. Further, if the alignment between the pigtail 12 and the GRIN lens 14 complies with predetermined conditions of the desired optical properties, the pigtail 12 is fixedly attached to an inside of the glass tube 15.
Thereafter, the glass tube 15 accommodating and supporting the GRIN lens 14 and the pigtail 12 is inserted into the metal sleeve 16 having a tube shape, and then the glass tube 15 is fastened (fixedly coupled) to the metal sleeve 16 by applying an epoxy resin 17 to one end of the metal sleeve 16, so as to complete the manufacturing process of the collimator 10.
However, the conventional collimator 10 has been manually manufactured . That is, a combining process of assembling the glass tube 15 accommodating the pigtail 12 and the GRIN lens 14 with the metal sleeve 16 is manually performed. As a result, it is inconvenient and takes much time in manufacturing the collimator, thereby decreasing a productivity thereof. Moreover, a manufacturing efficiency and a reliability of the collimator are remarkably decreased.